Author:Laurence Rees
THE SUNDAY TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
'Superb' ANDREW ROBERTS
In this classic book, highly acclaimed author and broadcaster Laurence Rees tells the definitive history of the most notorious Nazi institution of them all. We discover how Auschwitz evolved from a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners into the site of the largest mass murder in history - part death camp, part concentration camp, where around a million Jews were killed.
Auschwitz examines the mentality and motivations of the key Nazi decision makers, and perpetrators of appalling crimes speak here for the first time about their actions. Drawing on Rees's landmark documentary and material from the Russian archives, which challenged many previously accepted arguments, this book reveals significant and disturbing facts - from the operation of a brothel to the corruption that was rife throughout the camp.
This is the story of murder, brutality, courage, escape and survival, and a powerful account of how human tragedy of such immense scale could have happened.
Thank God that occasionally books of the stature of Laurence Rees's superb Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution are published... Fascinating.
—— Andrew Roberts , Evening StandardExcellent
—— Boyd Tonkin , The IndependentA key to understanding man's inhumanity to man
—— Ian Thomson , The GuardianWell-written with striking testimonies from bystanders, perpetrators and victims. The interviews with SS men, and sundry European Fascists, are genuinely revealing, and must have been exceptionally difficult to negotiate
—— Michael Burleigh , Daily TelegraphDevastating. Rees's research is impeccable and intrepid. Ultimately he does at the gut level what Hannah Arendt achieved some 40 years ago at the level of philosophy: he forces the reader to shift the Holocaust out of the realm of nightmare or Gothic horror and acknowledge it as something all too human. Scrupulous and honest, this book is utterly without illusions
—— David Von Drehle , Washington Post, USAThis magnificent book is exciting and disturbing at the same time
—— Rafael Nuez Florencio , El Mundo, SpainScrupulous and honest, this book is utterly without illusions. Rees, a distinguished journalist and historian at the BBC, layers these details with little fanfare but great craftsmanship. Reading this book is an ordeal - not through any failure of the author's but because of his success. Rees's research is impeccable and intrepid. Rees also makes good use of the records that became available only after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellites. spare, heartbreaking prose.
—— Washington PostI believe that Rees's book will be included in the canon of fundamental works shaping our knowledge about the Holocaust.
—— Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, former Polish Foreign Minister and one-time inmate of AuschwitzHe has the unerring gift of uncovering those astonishing truths that make even the best novelists of espionage seem both earthbound and artificial in comparison
—— Daily TelegraphHis best book yet
—— The TimesHe...spins gloriously through one of the most extraordinary private lives of the 20th century
—— Daily Mail, Book of the WeekIn Agent Sonya, Macintyre has pulled off his most remarkable trick: he leaves us admiring, and even cheering for, the woman at the heart of his story, someone who not only wanted to destroy our democracy but helped Russia get a nuclear bomb. She is the strongest character of all in Macintyre's bestselling series of wartime tales... I raced through the pages to keep up with the plot
—— Evening StandardAn incredible insight into a hundred years of British social history - and the story of a remarkable man
—— CandisCaptain Tom has a message of hope for us all
—— The Big IssueHis autobiography will continue to inspire. A hundred-year history of Britain and a life well lived
—— My WeeklyHis optimism and courage shine through in this uplifting account of his life and times
—— Sunday ExpressA national hero . . . He tells the story of his life with unfailing optimism and charm
—— Daily MirrorIn this delightful memoir, we see the build-up to that 'I said I'll do it and I will' attitude
—— Daily MailUplifting and inspiring
—— BestThere is so much more to the humble centenarian exserviceman's life than his garden laps for the NHS. A life-affirming memoir
—— SunA very open and honest account of a centenarian's life . . . You cannot help but be amazed
—— Who Do You Think You Are?Embark on an enchanting journey into our country's past hundred years through the remarkable life of Captain Sir Tom Moore
—— Eastern Daily PressThis minute-by-minute retelling tackles the big questions, but also - by drawing on the letters and diaries from the Dresden City Archive - never loosed sight of the experiences of people who witnessed, and suffered, the attach first-hand
—— BBC History Revealed, Book of the MonthIt's a wonderful book, so absorbing, thoughtful and thought provoking, I didn't want it to end
—— Maureen Waller, author of London 1945: Life in the Debris of WarThe story of the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945 is well known, but McKay's searing account is in a league of its own. His research is first-class, his writing elegant and emotive. He is brilliant at portraying the city's prewar beauty, grimly powerful on the horror of the firestorm, and moving and thoughtful about Dresden's rise from the ashes. By the end, I was itching to jump on a flight to Germany. That tells you about the skill and spirit of this terrific book
—— Dominic Sandbrook , The Times/Sunday Times Books of the Year